Her real name is Deborah Lee Sullivan. I interviewed her in 1990 just after she had done some music for Gussie Clarke of the Music works label. A powerful tune entitled "Rough Stuff" on Music Works 90, was charting and caused this young lady from Southern California to be known in the Reggae industry. She came to my home one evening, and we had a very pleasant conversation. This interview has never been published and this is the first time it appears in print.

Q: When did you start in your musical career?
A: When I started in music, I started with Reggae...in 1978.

Q: What was the name of your group in '78?
A: Well, we started out as Roots Rebels, but we only used that name for about three months before we became the Rebel Rockers. Mostly because we realized that the sound we were getting wasn't really a roots sound, but more of a rockers sound, so we changed the name.
The thing that made us really start was Jack Miller, who had a band right before the Rebel Rockers was formed. He and his band were going to Kingston to work on an album. They chartered a plane and asked Red Locks (who is my bass player now) and myself to go along. At the time, I was just thinking about singing and hadn't really done much about it. We went to Kingston to Channel One and did Jacks' session. Sly and Robbie were on bass and drums, Chinna was there on guitar, and the Mighty Diamonds did back up vocals. Needless to say we were so inspired from that session that we decided to go home and try to put something together.

Q: That was in '78, since then you've done a lot of things...you won some awards?
A: Yes, in '86 we won a Reggae Times Music Award.

Q: From there what happened?
A: Well, at the Reggae Times Awards, Tony Johnson was in the audience and I talked to him, saying, "Well, we won this award, we want to go to Sunsplash", and he said, "Okay". So we went to Jamaica in '87 and did the Beach Party, got rained out, so they put us on Sunsplash '88 on a Friday night which was Singers' Night. That went really well.

From that I had been checking Gussie Clarke for a while because he was my favorite producer and he had produced the Mighty Diamonds. I kept trying to get them to take me over there but that didn't work out. Anyway, I was in Dynamic Sounds one day and I had all my stuff with me (whenever I went to Kingston, I always had my tapes with me) so in walked someone and my friend says "Hey Gussie", and I said "Gussie Clarke?" and he answered me "Yeah". So, I introduced myself, told him we just did Sunsplash, here's my music, here's my phone number and he called me the next day.
I was supposed to be leaving on a Tuesday and that was the Saturday before. He called me on Sunday and said to me "When are you leaving?" I told him Tuesday, so he asked me to come into the studio Monday morning and let's lay some tracks, so I did. That was for Music works '89 and the song was called "Keep It Coming".



Q: What did you do after that?
A: We did a single after that called "We Belong Together".

Q: When you say "we", do you man the Rebel Rockers?
A: Technically no, but as writers, yes. The Rebel Rockers were involved in the writing of all the songs, but in the studio, Gussie likes to use Steely and Clevie. They are the only team that were as innovative as Sly and Robbie.

Q: Tell me how it feels to work in a Jamaican studio.
A: I was excited and a little scared. What's interesting about it is that it's very different from American studios. We get spoiled in the States because you can go in and lay a track, come back later and change it, whatever. In Kingston, there's no big budget, no time to keep coming back. With Gussie sometimes, the song is being written while you're there. The tracks are already laid, but sometimes I have to just learn the lyrics and do them. The creative energy is so high, there's so much juice in that room, that you are just working off of that energy.

Q: Is Gussie easy to work with?
A: Gussie is easy going and very irie. Everybody in that studio makes you feel comfortable, it's just like you're working with your brothers. They make you feel good about yourself and your talent. They give you a lot of stroking and positive vibes. I feel like it's a priviledge to work with them, but they make me feel it's a priviledge for them to work with me so it's really cool. It's a nice mutual respect.

Q: Let's talk about your hit on Music Works '90, "Rough Stuff". I feel it's your best so far, I really like that cut.
A: It's a bit controversial, but it's good. We've been waiting for one of these singles to get some attention, then we want to go in and cut an album. In the meantime, probably before summer, we'll do some other singles.

Q: Have you had the opportunity to work with any of the other artists that were involved with Music works '89 and '90?
A: Yes, I did do a session with Nadine Sutherland and Dean Frasier doing back up vocals for Deborah Glasgows' project.

Q: What do you plan to do from here?
A: Well, I just want to get a lot of music out, as much as I can.

Q: Do you plan to go back to Jamaica?
A: Yes, in about April or May.

Q: Have you had releases on any other Jamaican labels?
A: Yes....we had a release on Tuff Gong called "Baby I Really Wanna Dance With You", recorded in '88.

Q: Do you plan to spend a lot of time in Jamaica or what will you be doing?
A: I just did a date in Hawaii, but I figure tours will come now that we have some really good music out. I've been working solid year after year and right now, I'm in a little different space. When I work so much, it doesn't give me much time to be creative so I've taken some time off to write. I only do gigs that are really fun right now. I'm trying to focus more on writing and recording now. I really need a break, some time off.

Q: When you're on stage, who accompanies you?
A: My band, which is the Rebel Rockers. Eric "Red Locks" Morton, bass player; Phil Goth, my guitarist; Tracy Sledge, drummer; and Jalani Jones, keyboardist. There's five of us.

Q: Where else have you performed?
A: Mostly Western states, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, California, Hawaii, also Mexico. In the east of course, Jamaica. I haven't been to a few places I want to go such as New York, Japan and London, those are on my list.

Q: How do you feel about your fans here in Southern California?
A: My fans here have always supported me, kept my bills paid and made it possible for me to eat, therefore I can keep writing and I can keep singing. I've never had to have a job on the side. My fans here in California have literally kept me alive so I can do my music and I appreciate them from the depths of my soul.

Q: How do your parents feel about your work?
A: Well, at first they weren't too happy about it but they see I'm making it so I'm getting some good vibes from them, they've finally accepted it.

Q: What advice do you have for upcoming female artists who want to break into the industry?
A: Well, first, you have to really love the music, not the music business. If you get hung up on the music business and you worry about it, you can really get your heart broken and it can just shatter you. You must make the decision, not from wanting to be famous, not from wanting all these things that the industry can bring you. You have to love singing and absorb the pleasure and the joy in the moment when you're on stage or in the studio.
If that's where your heart is, then you have what it takes to be a singer. If it's not where your heart is, if it's all those other things you want, if you want to BE somebody and you want the business to make you a STAR, then you don't belong there. Chances are you are NOT gonna be a star, so don't go into it unless you love the singing and that will satisfy you.

Q: Do you have any other advice?
A: Well, that was my spiritual thought, but I do have some technical advice too. You have to have a lot of patience. Don't just go signing contracts because they're put in front of you. Get a good laywer if you can afford it. You can sign away a lot of rights if you're not careful. Work on your craft, send your tapes out to people who you're interested in working with....and the rest of it is just Jah guidance and God given luck.

Q: Tell us something about yourself, what are your hobbies and what you like to do other than music?
A: Mostly, I'm a gardener. I like to grow flowers, lots of flowers and food. I got my degree in Agriculture, Plant and Soil Science at Cal-Poly. I was gonna be an Agi cause I wanted to help feed the Third World countries. I'm still interested in that.

Q: Birthdate? Other info?
A: October 19th, from the tribe of Dan. I'm 5'4" tall and have one brother, one sister. My favorite foods are fruits and vegetables. My favorite color, purple.

Q: Any message for our sisters?
A: Yeah...it's real important for all of us to realize that we can do anything we want. When you come to this planet, you can do anything you want, you visualize it, see it, know it and do it. You have the power to do anything you want. I want all the sisters to know that. Project it, feel it, know it and use it. Never let anyone crush you.

Authors' note: It's now the year 2000 and we haven't heard from Princess for quite some time........I can only surmise about what she may be doing now. My prayers are with her where ever she may be. Sincere thanks to a lovely lady for a wonderful and insightful interview from a female artists' viewpoint.

Interview unpublished, all rights reserved by author.
Unauthorized copying prohibited without permission.

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